Prime Minister's anti-sleaze watchdog 'is toothless', say MPs

An anti-sleaze watchdog appointed by Gordon Brown was yesterday accused of being a poodle with little power to tackle ministers.

A report by MPs concluded that Sir Philip Mawer, appointed by the Prime Minister last July, had "very little independence".

In fact, he could investigate allegations of misconduct by ministers only if specifically asked to by Number 10, the Commons Public Administration Committee said.

In a damning judgment, the allparty committee concluded: "The post of independent adviser meets none of the criteria we associate with independence."

It said Sir Philip was of "limited value" and his "hands are tied" - adding that this was damaging his credibility in the eyes of the public.

The findings are a devastating blow for Mr Brown who took power last year with a promise to sweep aside Tony Blair's era of spin and "rebuild trust" in democracy.

Tories said it proved he was "treating the British people like fools" and failing to keep his pledge to increase openness and transparency.

The Prime Minister has been rocked by a series of scandals, including his former Work and Pensions Secretary Peter Hain facing a police probe after he failed to declare £103,000 in donations to the Electoral Commission.

Sir Philip was appointed to police the Ministerial code of conduct, the rulebook by which members of the government must abide.

His remit involves advising ministers on conflicts of interest and investigate serious allegations against them.

But today's report casts serious doubt on his effectiveness.

It said the former Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards had no power to launch his own investigations, no staff of his own, no office and no budget.

Sir Philip could also be dismissed by the Prime Minister "at any time and on any grounds".

Committee chairman Tony Wright said: "It is in the government's interest to get this right.

"Ministers should be innocent until proven guilty like the rest of us - but the public won't swallow that as long as the Prime Minister still acts as judge, jury and executioner."

The post of independent adviser was created by Tony Blair in March 2006.

But the first holder, Sir John Bourn, was not asked to carry out a single investigation - even though he was paid a salary of £30,000.